ATD and the Counterforce

[Billy Internicola]

I am new to the list and no doubt will come off naive in this email, please
bear with me if these things are simpler than I'm making them or if they've
been discussed to death....

I've read all of TRP's stuff. Reading ATD I felt a shift in "purpose",
"content" I dont know how to put it. I thought perhaps I was
misunderstanding something or as I understood in M+D perhaps something of
the spirit of the era was causing the change of tone but I wasn't picking up
on it.

Then I came across an abstract for an article by a female scholar, I couldnt
find the name this morning, I know nothing of her reputation, etc. The
abstract was claiming that in ATD , TRP was taking a new turn and advocating
some sort of Catholic(?) activism, a counterforce that actually fights back,
as opposed to the counterforce in the other books ( Slothrop, etc) who just
opt out of the game, fade into obscurity, yo-yo,  etc. I would not say this
is correct but I do agree that I asked my self the same questions in my
reading.

I've wondered if TRP was just attempting to mirror the spirit of anarchism
rampant in the era but I don't know if that satisfies my discontent.

Of course postulating on an author's beliefs and intentions is just about
the biggest post-modernist no-no of all but I do not think a reading of ATD
would be complete if the reader did not feel this push to correct karma,
offer acceptable pennance, shoot Vibe, fly towards grace, etc
If TRP is not "preaching" or "examining conscience " why is it there?
(BTW I love this aspect of the book but I don't want to be tauting something
that isn't even there, if you know what I mean?)

I'm just looking for a fuller understanding of a book...any help?

Billy Internicola
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